


Don't Starve: A Story of Shadow and Deception

by LadyPyrena



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: May be a bit OOC, everyone will suffer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 14:37:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9905342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyPyrena/pseuds/LadyPyrena
Summary: What if you were offered freedom, recognition, a second chance, but at the risk of death in a world of dark magic and shadow?





	

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning and ending paragraphs are flashbacks

Chapter 1: Before Night Falls

“In a time long before humans there existed a world of ancient beings, fusions between demon and shadow. These beings had extensive power in manipulating the world around them. Their civilization wide and prosperous.  
However, the good did not last. A struggle for resources plagued their civilization and within a matter of a decades all the only ones that remained were the rulers. The rulers now desperate for sustenance fed on anything and everything they could. Struggling to preserve what remained, the rulers eventually gathered all their power and fused into one being simply known as ‘Them.’ From then on-” 

“Ms. Wickerbottom, I like your stories about magic, but what about science” interrupted a young boy with messy black hair and blue eyes.

“My dear there is a fine line between science and magic. You will learn that some magic is science that the world has yet to comprehend” the young librarian responded.

Before the woman could continue her story another woman could be heard calling in the distance.

“Wilson! Wilson where are you!?” 

“Quickly” the librarian gestured for the boy to hide, understanding that he would rather listen to her stories and have discussions with her than be forced to sit around. The boy wedged himself between two bookshelves near the librarian’s desk. 

“I’m sorry Ms. Higgsbury I have not seen your son anywhere.”

He stifled a giggle as his mother continued her search. 

“Wilson! Wilson!”

\--------------------------------

“Wilson Percival Higgsbury” a woman called up to the attic window of a very run-down looking house.

Up in the attic a dark-haired and blue-eyed man was trying to focus on the scientific formulas in front of him, despite his mother’s persistence. He ran his hands through his already messy hair and finally gave in. He made his way to the front door angrily opening it. 

“What is it, mother?”

“Wilson, for goodness sakes it is your brother’s wedding day and you aren’t even considering being there to congratulate him” his mother told him with frustration. 

She was also frustrated at his appearance. His dress shirt had the top buttons undone while all the rest weren’t buttoned properly, his sleeves were rolled up but one was rolled up further than the other, and for some reason the black gloves he wore had the fingers cut off, the only thing that looked normal were his black slacks and red vest . 

“Albert already knows that I am happy for him, besides everyone in the family knows that I hate parties.” 

“This is not about you Wilson, it is about your brother.”

“I acknowledge that this isn’t about me. It is about science. A breakthrough is about to happen.”

“Your breakthrough can’t wait for one day? You are being incredibly selfish, young man.” 

“What you call being selfish, is me making a difference in the world instead of standing around while people criticize me for not having a wife and for staying locked in my lab all day” he pinched the bridge of his nose at the thought of what people have said about him.

“Well maybe they are right. Finding a wife would be good for you considering you are almost thirty and it would stop all the talk that there is something wrong with you.” she said as he poked him in the chest.

“Mother, if there is someone out there for me, then they would have to be very special to get between me and my science. I am doing something that could push technology into the next century and nothing-no wedding or woman-can interrupt that.”

“See, this is about you. Look, I know you have wanted to finish your father’s work ever since he passed, but this has become an unhealthy obsession” she replied as she gestured to the rundown house around her.

“Honoring my father’s wish is an unhealthy obsession?”

“Wilson, have you looked in a mirror recently? You look like you haven’t slept in a long time. You clearly haven’t been taking care of yourself and I know that this is your childhood home, but this place is in shambles. Even I am starting to think that you need serious help.”

“You think I am mad!?” The statement made Wilson’s temper flare in response.

“If you keep doing this, then you will certainly go mad.”

“I can assure you, mother, that I am doing perfectly fine the way I am and that I am not mad. Not in the slightest. And I am not going to that wedding” He said angrily.

“Young man, if you do not attend this wedding, then you can no longer call yourself a Higgsbury” she said with just as much, if not more, anger. 

“That is perfectly fine with me” Wilson shouted.

“Maybe someday all that science will be able to tell you how disappointed I am.” Mrs. Higgsbury said with a defeated tone as she began to leave the run-down house. 

“Good riddance” Wilson called out in frustration. He slammed the door, which caused some objects and structural pieces around the house to fall, but he choose to ignore it.

Once he was upstairs he sunk into his favorite chair and suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. Wilson actually was happy for his brother and felt sorry that he just abandoned his whole family, yet all the ridicule he had received at previous family gatherings was just too painful. Like he said, if there was someone out there for him, then they would have to be very special to get between him and his science. 

Wilson pushed all of his guilt away as he decided to resume his work. He may no longer be considered a Higgsbury, but he could still make a legacy for himself. 

\------------------------------

Multiple days had passed since the incident and in that time all he encountered was frustration and setbacks. 

Eventually the summer weather outside his home started to fade, but Wilson hadn’t noticed. In that time the only things that could prove that work was being done were scribbled out notes and deeper, darker circles under his eyes. 

On one night in particular, Wilson finally felt like he was on to something.

Everything was going well as he mixed chemicals. ‘Just one drop of--’ his thoughts were cut off as another explosion occurred. All he could do was bring a hand to his face in frustration. 

Wilson sunk into his nearby red chair, about ready to give up a get some sleep for the first time in two days. He zoned out from his surroundings as he went over the data in his head. There had to be a pattern, a conclusion, a hypothesis, something. Instead there was nothing. After feeling stuck for what seemed like hours a voice finally snapped Wilson out of his focus.

“Say pal, you look like you are having some trouble.” 

The voice seemed to come from right beside him, but Wilson saw no one else in his laboratory. He carefully crept over to the window to check outside. No one. The same was done for the trapdoor that led out of the attic. No one. 

“Over here.” 

Wilson reached out towards the radio, but quickly withdrew it.

“No. You are either an auditory hallucination that is resulting from sleep deprivation or a special broadcast that is meant to trick listeners.” 

“On the contrary. I can assure you that I am as real as you are, pal. My name is Maxwell.” The voice was deep and managed to be soothing yet made him wary.

“Pardon my intrusion, I was simply observing. It is always fascinating to watch a master perform his craft.” The statement sent a shock of excitement through Wilson. 

“You… you know about my work?”

“Of course, your theories and experiments are unlike anything I have ever seen”

“Are you a scientist yourself” Wilson asked. 

“Well I am a magician by trade. However, I dabble in science and what could be considered arcane” 

“Arcane? Aren’t you worried about people finding out about that and thinking that you are mad? I know I am” he quietly added at the end. Wilson had considered using what could be considered arcane or occult in order to finish his father’s work, but his colleagues had discovered his notes about the stuff and labeled him as a madman.

“If anyone finds out I just say it goes into my performances. Listen, since you are such a genius do you think maybe you could help me with a project? I have an idea for a machine, something that could advance technology. However, I lack the knowledge and resources to build it. You, on the other hand, have everything necessary.”

The idea of ‘advancing technology’ sparked Wilson’s interest. 

“How would I know how to build it?”

“I have knowledge that I can share with you. Not only will it aid you in building the machine, the knowledge could be the missing piece that you need for your own work.”

Maxwell was seriously tempting him. 

Wilson considered his options.

‘If this really is all just a hallucination, then it will be an amusing story. If it’s real and he is telling the truth… What do I have to lose? Maxwell may be able to talk to me through the radio, but he can’t jump out at me through it if I decide not to build the machine’ he thought. 

He nodded. 

“Ready for it?”

Knowledge rushed throughout Wilson’s head. Equations, instructions, information. Some of it expanded what Wilson already knew, but most of it was stuff that no one even dared to think about. He sunk to his knees and raised the radio above his head. Wilson smiled.

\------------------------------

Little to no time was wasted. Wilson spent three days working on the machine only stopping for meals and the occasional unexpected nap. Maxwell and Wilson carried on conversation throughout.

“I never did ask, how is it that you are talking to me through a radio” Wilson questioned not too long after he got to work.

“Technology that is being discovered. With the way that the world is moving maybe someday people will be able to talk with each other, listen to music, write notes to each other, and even be able to take photographs all with the same machine” Maxwell replied.

Throughout the process Wilson was actually grateful that his house was falling apart for once. All he had to do was pull wooden boards off the walls and hammer them onto the machine.

A few questions had crossed Wilson’s mind when he had to catch a few rats that were running around the house, tie them together, and add them to a bizarre mix of substances, yet all Maxwell had to say in response was “You’ll see soon enough.” 

“What else do you know?”

“I beg your pardon”

“I can tell that there is some information that you are withholding from me, especially when you say that I’ll find out soon enough.”

“Honestly, pal I thought you were a scientific genius. If you were, then you would know that overloading you with information would cause things to be forgotten and leave no room for discovering yourself” Maxwell replied knowing that Wilson would accept any answer as long as it boosted his ego. 

Throughout the days Wilson barely noticed that the same ragtime tune played repeatedly. 

“So will I ever get to see the face behind the name” Wilson asked as he screwed lightbulbs into the machine’s sockets.

“You’re almost done with the machine, so we will get to meet soon.”

All that was left was blood.

Wilson was so tired by the time the machine was almost done that he did a lot of work dissociated with glazed over eyes. He didn’t bother asking questions anymore. 

Without really knowing he brought a small kitchen knife to his hand and sliced down the middle. His blood quickly pooled in his palm and a drop landed in the beaker on the table and that one drop of blood was all Maxwell needed.

The sudden pain snapped Wilson out of his fatigue and made him realize what he had just done. He rushed over to the first aid kit on the wall and bandaged up his hand.

“Maxwell, what exactly was the purpose of that?”

The ragtime tune kept playing, but Maxwell didn’t respond.

“Maxwell I know that you can hear me and possibly see me. Why did you have me mutilate myself? What purpose does that serve for the machine?” He covered up the bandaged area with his glove, grateful that they were always there to cover up injuries, burns, and chemical stains. 

“If you must know, it is being discovered that human blood has properties in it that can make energy conversion more efficient” Maxwell replied, glad that he could make something up on the spot. 

“How? How is it-”

“Look it’s a lengthy explanation and you are almost done with the machine. Just finish it” Maxwell shouted.

It was done.

Wilson looked at his creation with pride.

“Excellent, now throw the switch” Maxwell commanded.

Wilson reached out, but hesitated. Maxwell had never explained what exactly the machine does and he never figured it out. ‘What is going to happen when I…’

“Do it!” Maxwell shouted, cutting off Wilson’s thought.

The machine sparked to life, lights ignited, boards moved, and Wilson suddenly saw the shape of a face in the contraption. Maniacal laughter filled the room as Wilson stepped back with fear.

Before Wilson could notice, shadow hands reached up from the floor. He attempted to do something, but to no avail. 

The shadow hands pulled him into the floor. 

Everything went black.

Wilson was now on Maxwell’s island.

\--------------------------------

Wilson slowly came to, but his vision was cloudy at first. The dark, deteriorating boards of the attic were what he expected when his vision cleared up, but instead there was a bright blue sky, pine trees, and birds. A throbbing sensation in his head prevented Wilson from getting up.

“Say pal, you don’t look so good.”

He darted his head towards the voice only to be met with another sharp burst of pain. “Ah… bad idea.” Wilson managed to finally sit up only to see a tall man in a pinstriped suit standing a few feet away smoking a cigar.

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“You already know me; however, it is nice to finally meet in person. As for where you are, why don’t you try discovering that for yourself. You are a scientist after all.” the man said with a familiar voice.

“Maxwell? How… how did I get here? What did you do to me!?” 

“Why Wilson, I have given you knowledge and you start shouting at me? No wonder your family refuses to talk to you.”

“You know what you did! You tricked me!” Wilson attempted to sound intimidating, but being stuck on the ground with a splitting headache could make intimidation go only so far. 

“I held up my end of the bargain just as you did. I gave you knowledge and in exchange you built the machine. If anything this is a chance to gain even more knowledge. You should be grateful, pal” 

Maxwell stepped toward Wilson and looked down on him like a predator eyeing an injured prey. 

“Also, you better find something to eat before night falls.” Maxwell stepped back and shadows began to wrap around him. Before Wilson could even think about reaching out to him, he disappeared. 

Wilson rubbed his eyes and took some deep breaths with hope that everything around him would turn out to be a vivid hallucination when he opened his eyes. No such luck. 

When the throbbing in his head finally subsided Wilson got up and scanned the area around him. 

The forest surrounding him somewhat resembled the one outside his home, so he figured that he was taken there as some kind of practical joke. 

“Alright, I understand now. This is all just an elaborate joke. Everyone was mad at me for not showing up to the wedding, so this is a way to get revenge. I’m actually quite amazed at how elaborate this is” he shouted into nothingness. 

He was met with silence.

“Are you going to come out now or do I have to make it back to my house?”

Wilson looked around for any sign of his family, but once again there was nothing.

“Fine!”

He thought back to all of the times he had to drive back to his house. 

‘The forest always seemed more dense further west, so that is probably where they took me’ Wilson concluded.

He ventured off confident that he would eventually find his house. 

For the first time in a long while, Wilson felt relaxed. The moderately warm day, the sun gently shining through the trees, the lovely red birds that he admired as they darted in and out of sight. Wilson had been cooped up in his lab for so long that he almost forgot what the world around him looked like.

However, as the day went on worry began to creep up on him. He was further from his home than he had expected. 

In one particular spot Wilson noticed that there was a fire pit set up with two pieces of flint laying next to it. 

“Convenient… almost too convenient” he called out hoping that someone could hear him. 

The sun was quickly sinking, so he decided to rest there for the night. 

But first he had to find kindling for the fire. Wilson thought back to the times that he and his father went exploring in the forest as a child. He was grateful that his father taught him some survival skills.

As he walked back to the fire pit with some twigs and dried up pine needles in his hands Wilson still felt a twinge of worry. He thought that he should have made it back home by now.

‘I may have done some horrible things, but not horrible enough to be left out in the wilderness overnight’ he thought. 

Wilson brought the twigs and pine needles over to the pit and tried to arrange them neatly.

However, the world quickly darkened around him. As quickly as he could he picked up the flint and tried to grind the pieces together knowing that the friction would start a fire. 

Wilson wasn’t afraid of the dark, yet what could be in the dark was a whole other case. 

What sounded like hissing rapidly approached. 

Wilson desperately grinded the pieces of flint together above the fire pit. Sparks provided brief illumination against the pitch black night. With one burst of light Wilson saw what looked like a flash of red. Suddenly, teeth suddenly pierced the skin on his shoulder. He let out a pained scream. In the fear and adrenaline mix he finally managed to ignite a fire. 

The hissing stopped as soon as it began. Wilson quickly grabbed a large, flaming stick and waved it around the campfire.

“Stay back! Stay away from me! I… I didn’t expect to die like this.” His tone took a quick turn from aggressive to afraid. 

He sunk down to the ground, putting the stick back in the fire, and hugging his knees close. Wilson was sitting uncomfortably close to the fire, but he didn’t care as long as the light kept the night monster away.

\-----------------------------------

Wilson wasn’t sure exactly when he fell asleep, all he remembered was closing his eyes when it was dark and suddenly opening them in the light. Lucky for him the fire kept burning until the morning. 

From the moment he woke up, Wilson could feel nothing but pain and fatigue. The pain came from where the night monster had cut up his back and shoulder along with the soreness that came with doing more physical activity in one day than he had in a long time. There were many nights that he spent getting minimal amounts of sleep, but this was different. Staying awake in complete fear and panic was different than staying up because there was science to do. All the fear had become mentally draining. 

“This isn’t a joke is it?”

Wilson had a subconscious hope that whoever was behind all of this would suddenly appear laughing at him and saying that he looked so pathetic. Complete silence answered his question. He contemplated staying where he was until death came for him. Laying on the ground, admitting defeat, and just letting nature take its course seemed more dignified than running around and hoping for things that weren’t there. 

Suddenly, Wilson caught a whiff of what smelled like cigar smoke. He bolted up expecting Maxwell to be there. Quickly looking around, he formulated a plan to attack Maxwell and demand that he be taken back to his home. He could have sworn that he saw Maxwell watching him from a distance. Wilson followed using rage to push through the fatigue.  
“Maxwell, I know you are out there!”

In any other circumstance Wilson would not have been able to run as fast as he could, especially as the chase led him uphill. At the top of the hill he realized that he Maxwell was gone, but noticed a wide amount of terrain stretched out in front of him. The forest went on as far as he could see, aside from the grasslands that occasionally dotted the land. 

Realization, fatigue, fear, devastation they all struck him like a punch to the stomach. Wilson collapsed to his knees and tears started rolling down his face.

“There is no way out.”

\------------------------------

“So we have a deal then?” a young man with glasses asked excitedly. 

“You should know that I am skeptical about this and if anyone else were to ask me for this I would say no” a much older and larger gentleman replied.

“I won’t let you down, sir. I just need to perform for one or two theaters, they will see how great my act is, and then they will start paying me. It won’t even take a year.” the younger man said with confidence.

“Listen, William you’re a good kid. If this magic business doesn’t work for you, I could help you find some other work. I owe your family after your brother saved my life and didn’t tell anyone what I was doing at the time.” 

“I can assure you, sir, that I will pay back all of your money. I have magic on my side.”

**Author's Note:**

> Credit to Fastern, the author of the 'Checkmate' series  
> Feel free to criticize


End file.
